Community Service and Volunteering in Lake Atitlan

Building long term food security, conserving natural resources, and preserving ancient endangered avocado genetics all while enjoying the stunning beauty of Lake Atitlan's most magical town.

We are proud to offer the Atitlan Organics Service Project, which gives organisations and small groups of students, volunteers, and travelers the opportunity to work alongside local Mayan farmers to diversify coffee fields. This valuable work results in Long Term Food Security, Soil and Water Conservation, Preservation of Rare Avocado Varieties, Ecosystem Restoration, and Local Economic Development.

If you would like to bring a group to participate in the Atitlan Organics Service Project, get in touch with us now for more information. We can create custom travel experiences that leave a long-lasting beneficial impact on the community, while allowing participants to have a rich learning experience in beautiful Lake Atitlan, Guatemala.

WORK ALONGSIDE MAYAN FARMERS TO PRESERVE RARE AVOCADO VARIETIES

The soil is the life of any ecosystem and small farmers depend on the health of the soil to feed their families and make a living. Soil loss and soil degradation are common challenges, making it harder for farmers to get good yields.

COMPONENTS OF THE SERVICE PROJECT

There is this idea in permaculture called "Stacking Functions," which basically challenges us to think about how we can achieve multiple yields or functions within one single activity. The Atitlan Organics Service Project is a perfect example of how the single act of coffee field diversification results in a number of benefits both social/economic and natural/environmental. Here are some of the key impacts this project has:

LONG TERM FOOD SECURITY

The most common 'cash' crop in Lake Atitlan is coffee, which in recent times has taken a big hit due to international price drops and diseases like coffee rust. When small farmers can't sell their coffee for a price that makes it worth harvesting, they are left with an inedible, non-nutritive product. In regions like Guatemala where malnutrition is rampant, diversifying coffee fields to produce nutritional crops is of utmost importance. Our project involves planting native avocados in young coffee fields, which diversifies the harvest while acting as a shade crop for coffee, and contributes to the nutrition and health of small farmers and their families.

PRESERVATION OF RARE AVOCADO VARIETIES

This is perhaps the most exciting part of the whole service project. The whole idea is to help small coffee farmers diversify their fields with the introduction of native edible plants, mainly focusing on the avocado. But we are not just planting any old avocado! The most popular avocado variety, the Hass, is originally from California, but it is slowly taking over Central America and creating a genetic monoculture of avocados. Furthermore, Lake Atitlan is one of the original centres of avocado development and there are literally hundreds of varieties of all different shapes, flavours, and fruiting times. This project provides the opportunity to select, trial, and preserve rare avocado varieties that may not exist anywhere else in the world, and may never exist again, if not preserved and propagated by someone.

LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Groups who participate in the Service project are helping to stimulate the local economy, both short and long term. Our Service project is committed to sourcing all project materials locally. We buy organic compost from local farmers and all of our heirloom grafted avocado trees are produced and sold to us by a locally run plant nursery. Our facilitation team includes many local Guatemalan permaculture ninjas who also benefit economically, which getting the opportunity to share their knowledge and passion with visitors from around the world. Furthermore, the plant collection includes a number of cash crops that start producing at different times over the next 3-5 years. Turmeric, pigeon peas, and tree tomato harvests will come first, followed by avocados in the fourth and fifth year. All of these crops have significant economic value in the local markets, allowing small farmers to diversify income streams and make money throughout the whole year.

SOIL & WATER CONSERVATION

Soil and water conservation techniques are surprisingly simple, but also almost always ignored and overlooked. When properly employed, crops like coffee and avocados grow better without the need for chemical inputs, erosion is reduced, and nutrients are held in place instead of washing into the rivers and lakes. Keeping soil in its place and slowing water down to hydrate the land are the simplest steps we can take to encourage the health of an ecosystem and the long term sustainability of a small farmer's land. In particular, the sensitive ecosystem of Lake Atitlan benefits from the reduced the risk of drought and fire, as well as the growth of more trees and native plant species.

ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION

Coffee is a shade tolerant under-story plant that thrives with a diverse set of other support plants growing around it. Despite this fact, many coffee fields are now simple monocultures and also food deserts. The heart of our project is to diversify coffee fields with native avocado species and a small number of other support plants. These plants include: comfrey (root layer, nutrient accumulator), turmeric (herb layer, cash crop/medicine), pigeon pea (small shrub layer, nitrogen fixer/food source), and tree tomato (large shrub, food/cash crop). Along with the avocado and coffee, this creates a multi-level, highly productive forest that supports ecosystem functions such as nutrient cycling, air and water purification, and the attraction of beneficial life such as native pollinators, birds, and more.

BUILDING BRIDGES BETWEEN CULTURES

This project is a true collaboration between the local community of Mayan farmers and the international travel and volunteer community. Each implementation takes place on a local farmer's coffee field and the whole family is usually always involved in each step of the project. But the project is also designed to enable international volunteers with little farming experience to also give back and contribute something meaningful and long lasting for the family and the community. After a recent installation, the small farmer, Nico, explained to us that what our group of 18 international volunteers and local farmers achieved in four days would have taken his family 4 months to complete. The work environment is always muy alegre, with music playing and people communicating across at least three different languages. And there is truly nothing more rewarding than planting the final rare avocado tree, and leaving it mulched and ready produce fruit for years to come.

BRING A GROUP TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS EDUCATIONAL SERVICE-BASED ADVENTURE

The Atitlan Organics Service Project is dedicated to serving the community and ecosystem of Tzununa through the edible diversification of coffee fields and the cultural interchange between local Mayan farmers and international travelers, students, and volunteers. Our program is designed to offer national and international groups of students, volunteers, and travelers the opportunity to work alongside small farmers, learn about agro-forestry and ecosystem restoration, and leave a long-lasting improvement in the community. We arrange transport, room and board, and the whole community service experience so that the group can focus on giving back and making the most of a rich travel adventure. If you are interested in bringing a group to help diversify a coffee field and aid in long term food security and economic development, get in touch now!

DAY 1:

Meet the local family, speak with them about their goals for the project, and do a site analysis as a group exercise.

DAY 2:

Begin work on site starting with basic earth works, small rock terraces, and mulch collection.

Learn about soil and water conservation, how to build and use an A-frame, and how to 'work on contour'.

Visit former project sites to see how plantings are being maintained.

DAY 3:

Finish earth works and place stakes to mark the tree planting spaces.

Hike to the nearby village of Pajomel to meet the local nursery team that produces the avocado trees.

Learn about grafting, avocado plants, and the importance of maintaining genetic diversity.

DAY 4:

Dig holes for trees and collect support plants.

Learn all about plant propagation and techniques you can use anywhere in the world to make more plants.

Walking tour of the Tzununa valley focusing on plant diversity.

DAY 5:

Plant and mulch trees and support plants.

Discuss proper maintenance and expectation of the system.

Visit a Mayan Permaculture Community to experience the possibilities held within community based agroforestry projects.

EXTRAS:

Depending on your group's wishes, we can custom make experiences that meets any group's needs. We can include more activities that explore the surrounding regions, like tours of other towns, kayak and paddle board trips, hiking, and more. We can also adjust the length of each experience, to meet the time requirements of your group.

TRAVEL, FOOD AND LODGING

All lodging and meals are included for the duration of your group's stay at the Bambu Guest House.

We can arrange travel between Tzununa and airport, Guatemala City, and Antigua.